Chapter 20 – This must’ve been a joke

Kim Wonhae came to pick up Jisoo in the middle of the night. She was lucky she had her phone with her this time, as she had no idea where she ended up at. He knew that he wasn’t supposed to ask, so he didn’t annoy Jisoo with any questions. He had always been more than just a driver to her, he was more like a loyal uncle in her eyes and she cherished him a lot. Arriving at home Jisoo went straight to bed. The rest of the weekend she didn’t leave her room or eat at all. Her mother came in once to ask if she was alright but Jisoo didn’t feel like answering. Her parents just let her be. Jisoo felt a little ashamed though. It probably seemed as if Jisoo was just going to another teenager phase again. How hard must it feel like if the perfect child dies and only the broken one was left? It was pathetic. Jisoo didn’t want to be like this but she just didn’t have the strength to get up. Sunday afternoon Jisoo finally felt something again. Her body was telling her to eat but she didn’t feel like getting up again. After a while someone came into her room.

“Yah! Kim Jisoo! What do you think you’re doing?”, it was Jennie! How did she know where she lived? Then on the other hand, their parents probably knew each other. Jisoo’s parents probably knew everyone that was somewhat important in the society.

“What are you doing here?” Jisoo wondered.

“The better question is, what’s going on with you?” Jennie ranted on her. She walked over to the window and opened the curtains and the window. “Wah! You’re really something! Are you going to whine around in your room or what?” Jennie asked her again? The light that came in through the window was so bright Jisoo had to close her eyes. After a few moments her eyes were able to open and to adjust to the lighting. She tried to get up a little, but she had no energy. Then she looked up and saw Jennie standing next to her bed with her arms crossed.

“Do you want to know what I heard? Namjoon told me that Yoongi and you caused quite a scene in the city on Friday… what the hell are you two doing?”

“I don’t want to talk about it…” Jisoo said and put the blanked over her face. Jennie obviously didn’t accept this answer and pulled the blanket away again.

“How about this… I’ll ask your mom for a few snacks and in the meantime,  you go and take a shower. A cold one…” Jennie said without waiting for Jisoo’s response. Jisoo didn’t know what to think. On the one hand she was sort of glad Jennie showed up just now, otherwise she would’ve never gotten out of bed, on the other hand she thought it was strange. They weren’t that close… how come she came over to check on Jisoo? Jisoo did as she was told and went into the bathroom. Her back was hurting as she just laid in bed for two days straight. As she came back into her room Jennie had already made up Jisoo’s bed and put some fruits, cookies and two cups of hot tea on Jisoo’s desk.

“You feeling better now?” Jennie asked. Jisoo just nodded. “You know what? Sit down on the chair, I’ll brush your hair for you”. Jisoo was glad that Jennie didn’t urge her to tell her anything. Jennie just stood there brushing Jisoo’s hair quietly. It seemed like she waited for Jisoo to open up to her and so Jisoo eventually did.

“He doesn’t want to see me again… actually, he hates me”, Jisoo finally said.

“Why would you think that?” Jennie wondered.

“You didn’t see his eyes. I’ve never seen them like this… he didn’t even explain anything. He just pushed me away.”

Jennie kept brushing Jisoo’s hair for a while. Then she stopped and sat down on the bed across from Jisoo. “I think he needs more time…” Jennie argued.

“Time what for? It’s over… he clearly doesn’t want to see me again. Me being there will only make him suffer” Jisoo answered.

“You two are so stubborn… you really are a perfect match” Jennie said but Jisoo ignored her. She didn’t want to talk about Yoongi. She wanted to forget all about him if possible. She just wanted to turn back the time to when her brother was still there. She wanted him to be healthy and there for her. If he wouldn’t have become sick, none of this mess would’ve ever happened. At the same time, Jisoo wouldn’t have changed and she liked her real self better than the robot she used to be before. “I don’t know too much about Yoongi to be honest” Jennie started, “all I know is that there’s more to the story. Namjoon told me that something happened in the past that made Yoongi this way but he didn’t say anything else. I think the boys don’t even know the whole story. The thing is though, they are my friends. Without them and without Lisa and Chaeyoung I wouldn’t know what to do, that’s why I don’t want anyone that’s close to me to suffer. That includes you too Jisoo….” Jennie finished explaining. Jisoo’s heart was warming up a little. It felt so nice to hear that she was an important part in someone else’s life.

“How about we stop talking about boys… they only take away our beauty sleep anyways. Do you want to come practice with me and the girls tomorrow? We’re going to meet up after school, so if you’re free we can go together”, Jennie suggested. It sounded like a good idea. It would help Jisoo to think about something else and at the same time she would finally have a chance to enjoy what she loved. Jisoo agreed to join them and it felt great to be able to talk to Jennie so casually. They kept talking for the rest of the afternoon. Just before dinner time Jennie had to go home. She was a company heir after all, therefore she had to obey her parents’ rules. Jisoo was thankful that Jennie came by but she didn’t really have to words to express it. She wanted to be a good friend to Jennie as well. She just hoped that Jennie understood even though Jisoo couldn’t thank her in words.

Even though she couldn’t sleep all night because of a certain someone, Jisoo was almost glad it was Monday. Today she would have a chance to dance again! She couldn’t wait. At breakfast her parents wanted to know all about her friendship with Jennie. It was only natural that they were interested. Her daughter was friends with the daughter of one of the biggest companies in the country after all, therefore they wanted to know how this girl just ended up at their house just the day before. Jisoo however didn’t care whose daughter Jennie was. She told her parents that they were in the same grade, therefore they knew each other and somehow became friends in the first week, which wasn’t even a lie. She was just happy to have someone close to a friend. The school day was pretty ordinary. They were still talking about things in class that Jisoo already knew, therefore she spent her morning reading medical books. For lunch she ate with Jennie again. It seemed like this would be their usual meeting from now on, which Jisoo enjoyed a lot. They just had normal conversations about school, music or dance. Jisoo couldn’t even remember a time she had felt this normal. After class Jisoo and Jennie met up at the school gate. To Jisoo’s surprise, Jennie suggested to take the bus. For some reason Jisoo couldn’t even imagine Jennie driving a public bus, but it made her like Jennie even more. This girl was so out of the ordinary. How could someone with that much money and power just take a public bus? Jisoo had to laugh at herself. She wasn’t that different either. She liked taking the bus even though her parents obviously preferred her to ask her driver to take her to places. Jisoo as well was out of the ordinary, the only difference was that Jennie was liked for being different whereas Jisoo was seen as a spoiled brat. Spending time with her new friend almost made Jisoo forget about her usual troubles. With her she could just be herself and she didn’t have to keep her family background a secret, if that was even possible at all.

They arrived at the city center. There Jennie led her into a building full of fitness centers and dance schools. It turned out that her family owned the entire building, therefore Jennie basically had her own private practice room. As the entered Jisoo was amazed. It looked like a luxurious ballet studio. She felt pretty much at home, as Jisoo had taken ballet classes for years. She loved it already. It was a comfortable room with an entire wall full or mirrors and enough space to do big choreographies. Both of them got changed into more comfortable clothes and Jisoo couldn’t wait to start.

“So… how about you show me what you can do until the girls arrive”, Jennie suggested.

“I’m not sure… I’m quite out of shape lately”, Jisoo tried to get out of the situation. She wasn’t brave enough to just dance in front of someone even though she was eager to dance.

“It’s fine. You just have to follow the music. Just pretend I’m not here”, Jennie said while connecting her phone to the music station. Then Jennie just turned up the music and sat down in front of the mirrors. At first Jisoo didn’t know what to do, but after a few moments she was just immersed into the music. It was an amazing song and her body just moved without her control. Jisoo felt so good! She forgot about Yoongi, she even forgot about Seokjin for a moment, until the music was over. Jisoo was out of breath and tried to remember where she was. It was only then that she noticed three girls clapping. Next to Jennie there were two other girls sitting right next to her, that Jisoo had never seen in her life. She was a little embarrassed but happy at the same time.

“Yah! Kim Jisoo! That was just amazing!” Jennie cheered. Then the three girls stood up and walked over to Jisoo. “OK, I’ll introduce you guys then. This is Lisa, she moved to Korea from Thailand because of her parents’ work and this is Chaeyoung, a really good friend of mine from Australia”, Jennie announced. The two were really nice and started asking Jisoo a lot of questions right away. Jisoo felt amazing! She met people that genuinely wanted to know things about her, people that didn’t care who she was or where she came from, because they all spoke the same language anyways. They all had the same passion – dancing.

The rest of the evening they created a new choreography together and also taught Jisoo some of their already existing ones. It was so much fun, Jisoo didn’t even notice the time go by. It was at around 9PM that Jennie announced the ending of their practice. Jennie’s parents would only allow her to practice every day if she would be home by 10PM every day and her grades needed to be good. Therefore, they usually stopped dancing around this time. For Jisoo this was great as well, she didn’t want her parents to think that she stayed out hanging out with friends the entire evening. Jisoo was thankful to the girls for including her in their circle without prejudices. She could actually find true friends in these three girls, especially in Jennie.

Arriving at home Jisoo went to the kitchen to eat some of the food their housekeeper left for her. Then Jisoo went into the living room, where her parents were watching the news. Jisoo didn’t really expect them to ask anything, but they wanted to know how her day was and what she was doing in school and just now as well. Jisoo was excited to tell them about her new friends and how she got back into dancing. She also mentioned how easy school was, as she had already learned the things they were talking about right now in the institution. Her parents seemed to be satisfied with her and it made Jisoo feel great! As she went to the bathroom, she looked at her in the mirror. She was quite satisfied with herself as well. She knew she had a long way to go but she made steps into the right direction. Seokjin would’ve been proud… She wanted to talk to him, she wanted to tell him how much fun she had today, she just wanted to feel his warmth. Jisoo went to his room again, but the door was locked. Why did her mother not want her to go in? Maybe her parents weren’t over it as well, or maybe they were scared that Jisoo would fall back into her grief. However, Jisoo would never be done with mourning. Her precious brother was gone, even though he should have been there every step of her life.

The rest of the week was actually quite good. Even though school was boring, Jisoo still had a lot of fun at lunch. Jennie was just great! Jisoo felt a little ashamed that she suspected Jennie at first. It turned out that she got to know the boys through her friendship with Kim Namjoon, therefore Jisoo had nothing to worry about. Yoongi and Jennie were just friends nothing more. At the same time Jisoo was annoyed by herself for thinking about Yoongi pretty much all the time. This guy took away her thoughts and her sleep. However, Jisoo managed to be good in school and was full of energy when she practiced with the girls. She started to like Lisa and Chaeyoung as well. These three girls were simply amazing. It felt as if Jisoo finally found people, that shared the same views and the same passions. They were really funny as well. “Here this is yours”, Jennie said while giving her a cute key chain with a key attached to it. Jisoo looked at it but didn’t know what to say. It was the same key chain the three girls had, but everyone had a different color. “It’s the key for this practice room, you can come whenever you want from now on. We sometimes also use it as a study room so feel free to come whenever you feel like” Jennie explained. Jisoo was so happy in that moment. She wouldn’t let go of her friendship with these three so easily. Sadly, the happy times she spent with them went by faster than the boring mornings she had to spend in school. However, her parents noticed that Jisoo was rather happy lately as well.

“You look like you enjoy school again”, her father said at dinner.

“Not exactly school itself, but I found some friends and I’m really glad I got back into dancing”, Jisoo proudly told her parents. Her mother seemed to be satisfied as well.

“I talked to your class teacher the other day, he seems to be satisfied with your performance as well”.

“Did you already think of which University you want to go to?” her father asked. “We need to make sure you apply in time”.

Jisoo didn’t tell them about her plan to become a doctor yet, but her parents wouldn’t oppose of it anyways. They knew that Jisoo would never follow their footsteps and become a politician anyways. They always wanted Seokjin and Jisoo to be something that other people would look up to and Jisoo thought she had found just the right thing, that would make her parents happy and herself.

“I’m planning to study medicine, but I haven’t decided at which Uni yet”, Jisoo announced. Her parents just looked at her for a few moments without saying anything. Jisoo wasn’t sure if they were happy or worried about her choice but her mother nodded her head. Her dad cleared his throat and continued eating, while saying: “That sounds like a realistic plan. We’ll figure it out.”

After that they were only talking about trivial things. About work, about politics or what they wanted to change in the garden.

“Oh Jisoo, I almost forgot. Friday night I would like for you to come home right after class. We will have some guests and therefore I want you to join dinner as well.”

Jisoo didn’t want to be there. She didn’t want to sacrifice her dance practice for a dinner with other politicians. They have had these sorts of soirées a lot in the past, and Seokjin and Jisoo were usually bored to death. However, Jisoo wanted to return the favor, as they had been doing a lot for Jisoo the last couple of days after all. She didn’t want to rebel and show them that she had her life in her control again.

“Ok… do I have to dress up a certain way or is it more of a casual dinner?” Jisoo asked.

“Well… We might cooperate with them, therefor I think a nice dress would be appropriate, but nothing too fancy”, her dad answered. “It will be fine, don’t worry. We just want you to be there to get to know them. It might be a good opportunity to network with their company.”

“They work at the company that’s owned by Jennie’s family, so I think it would be advantageous if you don’t miss out so to speak”, her mother added. Basically, they were saying to better show up in a nicer way. Jisoo was surprised that it sounded like a choice though. Usually they just informed Seokjin and Jisoo to be there at a certain time. There was no chance of saying no. This time however it seemed that her parents were really concerned if Jisoo was ready for this sort of thing. Jisoo was sure she could handle it though. “Don’t worry, I’ll be on my best behavior”, Jisoo promised.

The next day it was already Thursday. At lunch she told Jennie about her dinner the next day and that she couldn’t come to practice, but of course it was no problem. They didn’t have a strict practice schedule or anything, they just had fun together.

“Do you know what projects are going on in the company lately? I’m not sure what kind of people are coming over”, Jisoo asked her friend.

“Honestly… I have no idea. I don’t really care much about my parents’ company.”

“Aren’t you the heir though?” Jisoo asked.

“Well… I told my parents that I will get into all the business things when I’m ready, but that I wanted to live for now. As long as my grades stay on top they don’t mind. I will have the rest of my life to deal with the business later on”, Jennie explained.

“That means you probably don’t know who’s coming over…” Jisoo said.

“Do you know how many employees we have? I probably know like five of them, and these are only the most important board members.”

Jisoo was amazed how Jennie just didn’t care. It was another aspect that Jisoo admired. This girl had the world in front of her but didn’t even want it. Even though she was so rich and had so many opportunities she just did whatever she felt like. She wasn’t even snobby at all. If Jisoo had just met her by chance on the street and didn’t know who Jennie was, she would’ve never imagined. Jisoo wondered if her attitude had anything to do with Kim Namjoon. To Jisoo it sounded like there was more going on between Jennie and Namjoon than just friendship. Jennie of course would never admit it though. Jisoo knew that these two met in New Zeeland, when Jennie spend her childhood there and Namjoon went there for a school year, as he had gotten a scholarship. They knew each other for quite some time and Jennie always managed to talk about Namjoon anyways. The way she talked about him, made Jisoo certain that she didn’t have to worry about Jennie’s interference with Yoongi. Jennie’s heart belonged to someone else. Jisoo thought it was cute, however she didn’t dare to ask, because Jennie would probably snap and deny everything.

“Don’t worry, it will be fine. You just have to eat, nod and let the adults talk about business. You’re used to it right?” Jennie asked. Another aspect Jisoo liked about her friend. This girl knew exactly how hard it could be to pretend sometimes. This girl had pretty much the same childhood, where she had to behave perfectly and always be nice to everyone. Everyday Jisoo felt thankful to have Jennie in her life now. After school they went to practice. They had so much fun that Jisoo and Jennie almost came home too late. Jisoo’s parents didn’t say anything though. That evening Jisoo checked her closet. She had so many clothes it wasn’t even normal. The amount of dresses was driving her crazy. What should she wear? She wanted to wear something that was neat enough but still comfortable. She saw Yoongi’s hoddie hanging there. She wondered what he would think of her all dressed up in a dress. Would he think she was pretty or would he rather thing it was ridiculous? Jisoo tried not to think about this idiot. She was still hurt too much by his words. She needed some time before she could forgive him. After going through the entire closed she decided on a light blue dress with puffy sleeves. It ended right above her knees. She liked that dress a lot, because she had gotten in for Christmas just last year from Seokjin. It felt as if Seokjin would be by her side, even though he couldn’t be there in person. She laughed at herself a little just thinking about how normal everything was in that moment. Her freaking out over what to wear was so last year. At the same time Jisoo didn’t want to let the pain come into her heart, because obviously nothing was like last year. How long would she keep feeling like this? Would she feel this pain every time she had to think about old times? It was tiring. Jisoo wanted to think about her brother and remember the happy moments they had together and not the pain of him being gone.

The next day she came back home right after school just as she had promised to her parents. The housemaid was already stressed out with the seating arrangements and the food. Everyone in the house was cleaning or setting the table, arranging some flowers or cleaning up the garden. Just who was coming over that they freaked out like this?

“Our guest will be here soon, it’s best if you get ready first”, the housekeeper told Jisoo.

“Sure, I’m already on my way”, Jisoo announced.

“They will bring their son along as well, so maybe you can put on some extra lipstick”, the house keeper joked. Great… Jisoo thought she could just enjoy the dinner and then disappear quietly, while the adults were talking about business. If they brought their son along it meant that he was either old enough to joint the business talk, way too young so that Jisoo had to play games with him or he would be around her age. The last option was the most complicated one though. Her parents would probably try to get both of them to go out together, but Jisoo was not interested in anything like that at all. Jisoo’s heart was taken, it didn’t matter if Yoongi really hated her or if he was going through something, he couldn’t tell Jisoo about. She was certainly not even thinking of going out with some random guy that her parents thought would be helpful in her future.

However, Jisoo didn’t waste too much thoughts on it. She went to her room and got ready. She put on the dress and then went to the bathroom to put on a little bit of makeup. After she was done, she felt like a clown. She looked like she usually would after putting on makeup, but it just didn’t feel right to her anymore. It was more like a mask. The washed off all the makeup and started from scratch. This time she only put on a little bit. It still looked like her this time. She felt quite comfortable like this, it was neat and fancy but not too much. After she was done with her hair she went back into her room to do her homework. She still had about an hour before the guests arrived. That hour went by quite fast, however Jisoo was able to finish all of her homework just in time. She heard the doorbell ring and prepared to go downstairs. She just had to endure a few hours and pretend that nothing was wrong. She breathed in deeply and went down the stairs. Arriving at the last step she finally saw the guest. Her parents were talking to the couple, but behind them there was someone else. Jisoo couldn’t breathe, she felt as if someone tried to choke her… The black hair, the dark eyes, that face… This must’ve been a joke! Maybe she was dreaming. Her heart almost exploded. I was beating fast to a point that Jisoo was hurting from the inside. Her parents nor the two other people noticed Jisoo yet. Maybe this was the perfect moment to flee. However, he looked right at her. Their eyes met and Jisoo froze. She couldn’t move a tiny bit. She wanted to disappear right this instant.

What the hell was Yoongi doing in her house?